Encroaching Darkness: Ebony Game
It was raining in the streets of a small city, all was quiet and silent for the night, save for the pitter-patter of rain drops as they hit cars, windows, and concrete of the cement jungle. A red robed figure with hair as white as a sheet ran down an alleyway, smirk donning his pale features as a building came into view. Purple eyes scanned the area for a few moments before the figure ran up to the doors and materialized through them. Dark energy represented by black flames escaped the figure's robe, floating to cameras and other forms of surveillance "Pathetic... The security here is meager at best." A bank no less was in the process of being robbed by the thief, who grinned as he approached and easily opened a safe with a wave of an arm. He entered the large safe, easily finding some money to be able to start off his new life. "I think it's far easier to steal in this age than it was back then, don't you agree Wadjet?" The white-haired thief smirked at the cash he now held in a small bag. A ghostly snake materialized behind the thief, producing a slight hiss as it came into view. It's white wings and red eyes faintly glowing; it flicked its tongue out at the air. "Yes, I'm positive that I disabled the alarms and cameras; if I didn't there would have been police swarming the area right now. Now go look around the rest of the place, keep a lookout as well." The winged serpent obeyed, floating out of the safe to go look around the rest of the dark bank. "You'd think that there'd be more of a challenge, especially with the new technology of today." A hiss escaped his Ka, his spiritual snake, one that caused the thief to become tense with uncertainty, 'Don't tell me that someone has already caught on to my antics.' The thief mulled over in his thoughts, 'No way that there is anyone fast enough or smart enough to know I'm here already.' The thief strode from his recent find out into the open of the bank to find the front doors were wide open, "Ah, so someone has already caught on, indeed." The thief looked around, trying to find the culprit that planned to intrude upon his own attempt at stealing. "So, where's the mortal that has performed this act, Wadjet?" He looked to the floating spiritual serpent for answer, to which the snake stared at him, merely flicking its tongue out. "You have no idea...? Well, that's just great. Search for him or her then, I cannot have a mortal in my way as I perform my art." "Thought I'd find you here." said a familiar voice from behind. The thief turned around to around at that instant to find the intruder standing there before him, "Ugh... What do you want...?" Ateo's eyes narrowed, "I'm busy, can you not see that?" Philip raised an eyebrow, "Do you really think I'm stupid enough to let a thief just roam free without some surveillance?" A tiny nanobot zipped from Ateo's shoulder and back to Philip. "So, what are you after now?" "I figured I'd need a little headway." Ateo's eyes glinted, "Money is something that can give me that. In my time, money was everything, I'm going to assume it's the same here as it was then, no? Besides, the people who work here won't notice anything is gone, not right away at least." Ateo snickered to himself. Philip looked over his shoulder to see if people were coming or not. "You do know there are ways to legally obtain money right? Like a job? Or welfare? Something like that. Stealing is not necessarily the answer." Philip faced Ateo, secretly making eyes to see if anyone was coming on the off-chance the thief tripped a silent alarm. Ateo laughed, "You forgot my namesake didn't you?" He chuckled, "Thief King ring a bell, Philip? I can steal what I want when I want to. No one really has a say on what I do when it comes down to it. I can do whatever I want without anything holding me back now." Philip then asked, "What about the awkwardness of being a temporal fish out of water?" He cautiously took a step forward, "Doesn't that ever get in the way. I mean you call Hebrew "the language of the slaves". God (or Ra in your case) have mercy on you if you ever go to a temple." The winged serpent hissed, "Calm down, Wadjet. I doubt he'd actually harm me now. And in response, the gods forsook me long ago." Ateo stated, "I don't think I really need to bother with them now anyways." Ateo took out a dollar bill, looking at it carefully, "Why on papyrus, I'll never understand." Ateo mulled over the money, seemingly distracted for the moment, somehow comfortable in Philip's presence. Philip slithered his hand, erasing his fingerprints, and took the dollar from Ateo and placed it back on the pile. "Now come on, don't want to risk getting caught do you? Why not use your dexterous hands for..." Philip stopped, muttering to himself, "Blast, what is it that people with dexterous hands do... Painting!" "Caught? Don't think so little of me Philip. The security has been disabled." Ateo stated, "I'm not going to take up art for my life, pottery and painting was never my thing. But I got money now. It was nice seeing you for the time being, but I have more business to attend to." Ateo seemed in a rush, turning around and taking his bag of money with him too. Philip shot out a few nanobots, trying to land on to act as a tracer again; a purple energy seemed to shock those very nanobots, to which Ateo turned around with a grin on his face, one eye widened while the other was somewhat closed, giving him a creepy expression, "Sometimes I don't think straight. But when I do, I know what you plan. Heheheh... You're such a stalker Philip. Now, stay still while I reactivate security." Not wanting to be caught in a bank after hours, he dissolved and slithered towards the exit. Once he was outside, he looked towards the roof to see if Ateo had left already. While doing this he muttered, "I'm not a stalker... anyway, what the hell does he think I'm suppose to do. I can't just let him roam around free." Wadjet was already flying above head, Ateo laughing maniacally at the pace the winged serpent took, "See ya Philip! Enjoy whatever time you have. Got much more fun to make tonight!" Ateo laughed until he was gone once more, heading to the nearest place to keep shelter from the rain. Philip sighed. 'Maniacal laughter is not helping your case Ateo.' He began to sprint under Wadjet, watching the snake to make sure that it wasn't looking down, getting ready to use evasive action if it did look down. The snake flew over the city, taking its time with the travel, it looked about for any places, and spotted one far away. It began to fly over a wooded forest, Ateo on the other hand mulled about looking at the skies and the ground, "Twerp isn't following, is he?" He looked down to check for Philip. The hivemind quickly changed into a wolf form and continued to run, hoping that the two wouldn't notice. Wadjet landed down near a cave, Ateo hopped off, "That was nice, we bagged something somewhat neat now didn't we?" Ateo grinned at Wadjet, who merely hissed and faded into nothing, for the time being. Ateo walked into the cave, unaware of Philip still on his tail. In order to avoid being noticed, Philip shapeshifted into the form of a milk snake, thinking to himself, 'What is he doing now?' A few seconds later was all it took for Philip to realize a fire was inside the cave, Ateo merely munching on an apple and quietly counting the money he stole from the bank. Keeping to the shadow, Philip slithered closer to try to hear Ateo, if he was saying anything aside from counting. "Bleh, dumbasses... Using papyrus for money, it was not worth much back then but it seems to be praised now. Hm?" Ateo took to looking at the mouth of the cave, seeing Philip in his snake form, "Ah, one of Apep's children wishes to keep me company for the night. Come over." Ateo beckoned, "And even if you were hiding from me, little snake, my years of living in the darkness forced me to adapt." Ateo's eyes flashed violet glowing in the shadows of the night. Philip cautiously slithered over to Ateo. He couldn't help but think though, 'Modern money isn't papyrus. It's a mix of cloth and paper fibers. If you're going to steal stuff, might as well do the research.' Ateo sighed, "Child of Apep, do you, by your natural instict, feel the remaining bits of darkness that still pervade the land? It was my fault that Darkness came to Earth." Ateo bit into more of his apple, his lavender eyes staring at the snake, "And what's more-" An explosion was heard, surprising Ateo and getting him to stand on his feet immediately, "What in Ammit was that?!" He ran to the mouth of the cave, to see flames shooting out from above the forest. Philip changed into a rat and followed Ateo to the mouth of the cave, basically thinking the same thing Ateo has just said. Chapter I "Hm..." Ateo broke into a run, hurrying his way through the forest, until he came across a church that was on fire. A person with white hair wearing what appeared to be a black trench coat was walking away from the fire. "Hey! What happened?!" Ateo yelled to the person. The figure turned around, revealing it to be Makoto, but his eyes were a deep, blood red, his expression appeared angry, "And what do you want? Oh... It's you..." Philip looked up and saw Makoto, thinking, 'What the hell? That looks like Makoto...but he looks...different. Disturbed.' "You're Makoto, the boy from those many nights before." Ateo stated, "While I don't mind senseless destruction, why out here?" Makoto laughed, "Boy, do you not look into one's eyes when you speak to them?!" Ateo took a step back, "W-what?" Makoto walked over, "It's been so long Ateo, a little bit past 4000 years... After those stunts you pulled off, and with the recent ones now... Well, I was able to cross over to Earth once more..." "N-No! Get back!!" Makoto smirked, raising an arm, flicking a finger and blasted Ateo back into a tree, "Not anywhere near the power you used to have in Egypt." Philip sprinted behind a tree, dissolved into a puddle and secretly tried to slither closer to Makoto, in case something bad happened. Ateo stood up, "You must have suffered quite a destructive end once I was sent away... Look at you now, having to possess a kid's body." Ateo laughed at Makoto, who seethed in anger. "All would have gone right, had you followed every direction I gave you; but you didn't... And look at you now, alone and weak..." "You mean like how I was after everyone died, nothing's changed... I'm still alone..." Makoto gave a wicked grin, "Of course. And I came back... To help you..." "Help me?" Philip climbed up a tree and took the shape of an owl, watching and listening to Ateo and this...being in control of Makoto. 'Let's see what's going on.' "Time can be reset, we can restart anew; we need to go where it all began." Makoto chuckled, "But I sense that you'll need a little convincing..." Makoto looked over to where Philip was, his red eyes piercing, "You know, all it requires is a large portion of souls and dark magic. I'm sure you'll be willing to give that sacrifice." Makoto looked to Ateo again, "Well?" "I... I don't know... You'll have to-" Ateo was smacked across the face, "Foolish, ignorant brat. Even after so long of a time, you still know nothing." Makoto looked back up at Philip's owl form, raising his arm and suddenly shooting a black barb out from his tenchcoat's arm. Philip melted towards the ground and reformed in his attempts to avoid the blast, turning his arm into a flail and sending it towards his attacker's torso in a non-lethal area. Makoto smiled, merely jumping backward, though it almost appeared as if he floated, "A fine trick, one that would get someone like Ateo; but not me. Neither do your disguises deceive me, Philip..." "Philip? What are you doing here?!" Ateo growled, "I thought I lost you when I left!!" Philip retracted his fist, creating a sword, snapping, "Be happy I'm here to help you out!" He then focused his attention to Makoto, "Alright, what the hell did you do to Makoto? I can tell you're not something I'd fully understand, meaning it's something most would call "magic"; and you're going to be like Ateo and mock me for being clueless, so you might as well just explain it to me." Makoto merely smiled lazily, raising his arms up as if surrendering, "I'm merely a fragment of something that once was. A friend of Ateo's from long ago." A slight chuckle emanated from Makoto, "Ateo... I'll give you a day to think it over... I trust you'll have an answer by tomorrow night." Makoto started to walk off. "I didn't need your help, Philip. I could handle myself, you know." Ateo ground out. Philip responded, "You don't even know what dollars are made of...or modern paper! Any way, if you are a fragment of something from the past, I guess you're a guy out of time like Ateo here. Except you weren't lucky enough to have a body." The air grew heavy at that moment, as Makoto turned, his eyes boiling blood red, "Stay out of this... Your last warning..." Makoto suddenly disappeared. "It appears you've angered him, though he's given you mercy by leaving Philip." Ateo laughed, "You should get out of my business you know." Ateo turned around, walking back to his cave to get warm and dry from the rain. Philip followed, saying, "Ateo, I know a guy who fights beings of such power, someone like me has to call them "gods" solely for convenience. I tagged along and nearly died. I think I can deal with this guy, who seems mostly human. Now, tell me what you know about that guy..." "And what makes you think I'll tell you about him, huh?" Ateo questioned, poking at his now very small fire, "He's just a mere acquaintance... Some old friend who I knew long ago..." "Seems like he knows you pretty well. Also seems like he has quite a bit of power to him." Philip said, tossing some dry grass into the fire, feeling a touch cold from the rain and wind. "Look, I know we're not exactly friends, but I can't let some guy who randomly burned down a church run around. So I'm going to need as much information as possible." "Hmph... While Darkness does indeed rule a realm over his own name; he did have more than one inhabitant... Ides the Shade, a demon who almost destroyed the Earth long ago..." "So that's his name. Ides the Shade. How did he almost destroy Earth. Any record of this?" "That information I do not know of... It'd probably be in Egypt." Ateo stated, "Under layers and layers of sand... With a bunch of dead people. I've got thinking to do." Ateo stared at the fire, looking longingly into it. Philip simply sat down, asking, "Define, "I don't know." Is it an amnesia thing, suppressed memory, wasn't around for it? What's going on?" "I was gone by that time." Ateo growled. "Can't you "divine" anything from Darkness? Doesn't your "magic" allow you to do that?" asked Philip, trying to get more information from Ateo. Ateo looked down at the ground, hiding his face, he sighed, not answering. Philip sighed, "So. Now what should we do?" "You're going to leave." Philip, deciding to be smug, replied, "Well I can't face this guy alone and you're the only guy who knows what the hell we're dealing with so you're helping me out with this." Ateo narrowed his eyes, "You don't tell me what to do. You don't order me around." Philip crossed him arms and said, "Tell me, how many planets are there in the night sky?" "It depends, does it not? This has nothing to do with what we're speaking of, so shut up and leave me alone..." Dark energy began to emit from Ateo. Philip was surprisingly unphased, 'Must be from spending time with Todd.' He then asked Ateo, "So what are you going to do if I do leave? Just sit here and watch the fire?" "Probably go to bed, and then repeat stealing from another place. Hmph... And give Ides his answer..." The darkness retracted after a few moments. Due to not really liking the answer, Philip secretly sent a nanobot Ateo's way to be a tracer. "Sine you're clearly not going to be helpful, I'm leaving. Good evening." said Philip leaving the cave. "Before you go..." Ateo's body burned a bright purple, destroying the nanobot, Ateo gave a creepy grin, "Should you find me deceased by tomorrow night, I'd prefer my body to be burned." 'Damn...' thought Philip, "And really? No mummification?" "It's not reserved for me. I'm not going to the wonderful afterlife... Ammit probably already has me." Ateo sighed, "If not worse..." Philip commented, "If memory serves, Ammit is as bad as it gets in the Ancient Egyptian religion, aside from losing your name. Unless death for you means returning to Darkness." Ateo chuckled, "Or Ides removes my soul from my body... Won't it be sad that the only person who knows of the Lord of Darkness will be killed by the Lord himself? Of course, that is if I don't side with him." "So, what is your answer for him?" Chapter II Ateo stood up, approaching Philip, creepy smile as per the usual, "Oh... I don't know yet... I just know it'd involve replication of my time..." "At what cost though?" asked Philip, assuming it won't be so simple. "If memory serves... One thousand human souls..." Ateo's expression dulled, "Ides knows how to do it. I can do it if I wanted, it just requires time and effort." "What?" Philip replied, not liking the way that sounded. "I may question the existence of an immaterial aspect of a living being, but something tells me anything powered by them aren't good! Hell you released Darkness to free your family and people who were being used to power "mystic" items!" "Do you think I wanted them to suffer continually? Never to see them after I myself die? That was my goal..." Ateo crossed his arms, "I didn't care whether or not Earth would suffer. I don't care if it does now... No one understands an outcast. No one cares for one." Ateo turned around, "I aided Ides before I was sealed away at the age of twenty... I released him in the hopes he'd wipe away Egypt." Philip stretched out a now bladed arm towards Ateo, suddenly enraged, "You unleashed a psychopath 4000 years ago, that's now going to take 1000 souls to go back in time and destroy Egypt?! Don't you know what that'll do to modern mankind!?" Ateo stared at Philip, "He was sealed away after I was. I assume when Darkness came to Earth, he found a loophole through, and was able to return to Earth as well. Why do you think I was hesitant to explain this to you?" Ateo was oddly calm. Philip snapped again, "This is serious Ateo! Someone is going to wipe out an entire civilization, that helped shape modern society, just because he can! This is the sort of thing my friends fight a regular basis!" "I am being serious. I've told you what I know and what I did as a child. You think I don't regret some things?!" Ateo's eyes turned a slight tint of red, "Kill me if you want, I could give less of a damn." Philip sheathed his sword arm, "I don't kill as often any more. I have killed a man once you know. Didn't like decided not to do it anymore. I'm going to do some research on this cataclysm you mentioned." With that Philip began to walk away. He pulled out his cell phone and hit 3 on speed dial. "Uhg, hello?" said a tired voice over the line. "Todd, it's me Philip." "Yeah, I know. Cell phones have caller ID. What do you want? I had a long day, killing these weird shadow demon-monster things, and a freaking dragon." Philip asked, "Do you have your Book?" After a moment of silence Todd answered, still tired, "I didn't but the damn thing just appeared from I don't know. What do you want?" "I need you to look up any sort of supernatural cataclysm in ancient Egypt." Todd replied with a slightly annoyed voice, "There were several Philip. There was that goddess that nearly ate everyone, and then there was Set's reign..." "Here are some key words: Sealed spirit, time manipulation, 1000 souls, ritual." "OK, I'm looking, I'm looking." "Damn morons..." Ateo muttered to himself, shaking his head. He walked back into the cave. Philip snapped back to Ateo, "Not one to talk!" He then returned his attention to Todd on the phone, with the sound of pages flipping on the other end, "Found anything yet Todd?" Todd answered, flipping through the pages, "Not yet...found a few cool summons though. I can call on Ammit...with the risk of getting my heart devoured...no thank you." He continued to look through the Book. Ateo walked back out of the cave, carrying the money he had, "You and your friend are both morons. You know nothing of Ides or how to handle someone of his strength." Philip ignored Ateo this time and told Todd, "Oh and throw Ides in there too, see if that helps." "What would help is if I were asleep right now." responded Todd, flipping through the book, trying to see if there was anything on Ides. "Why don't you just throw my name into the damn equation!" Ateo growled, continuing to walk further away, grumbling to himself. "Throw in the name Ateo while you're at it." "...I'm never going to sleep am I?" Todd moaned, looking through the book still. Ateo stood under a tree nearby, watching Philip talk with his friend, "Tell your friend that's he's an idiot too." Todd responded over the phone, "Philip, tell your friend to shut up." "Ateo, Todd says to shut up!" "Todd can go jump off a cliff." Ateo grumbled, "And I'm not your friend, no one has been my friend for 4000 years." Todd, ignoring Ateo said to Philip, "Book is being stubborn again. So let's try to see what I can find if I throw in some gods. Any suggestions?" Philip had an idea, "Try a Secret known as Darkness!" "Uh, OK. So now we have Egypt, Cataclysm, Ides, Ateo, sealed spirit, ritual, 1000 souls, and Darkness." "Your friend's incompetency is wearing me out; and I'm not even within his physical presence." Ateo growled. Todd snapped, "Dude, I'm barely awake! Huh...wait, this might be something..." "'I'm barely awake', yeah. I was barely awake when I was being chased down streets and alleys in Egypt." Todd then read from the book, "And so Apep caught up with the raft of Ra on the command of...ah damn it." "What's wrong?" asked Philip. "The page is fading." "What? What do you mean the page is fading?" Todd answered, "Well the contents of the pages change randomly, some times things appear in the book and disappear, like this one time a guy in a mask chased me and Johanna..." "Basically the information is lost." groaned Philip, grabbing the bridge of his nose. Todd replied, "Hey! Don't groan at me, you woke me up remember? Anyway, all I can gather from it is some sort of solar eclipse happened, possibly forced by a wizard or something." Philip turned to Ateo and said, "Can you shed any light dumbass?" Ateo growled, "You're a real jerk, you know?" The Egyptian's eyes became a fiery red, "I hate that." Purple energy began to emanate from Ateo, who shot an orb of darkness right at Philip. Philip ducked, trying to avoid it. He then snapped, "Hey! Bit of an overreaction don't you think?!" Todd proceeded to ask, "The hell's going on?" "Long story, Todd?" "Why would I aid some asshole and his friend; fucking insult one after another!" Another orb was lobbed straight at Philip, Ateo growled, some tears streaming down his eyes, he turned around and ran right after. Todd responded, "Uh, sure. Philip you're kinda condescending." "Todd, you're for someone who can remember countless spells from an ancient book, you're a complete idiot. Happy Ateo?" Ateo merely yelled "Fuck off!!" He disappeared in the forest, dropping the money he had in the bag behind on purpose. "Gotta go Todd, I need to catch up with a 4000 year old teenager." Philip sighed. Todd replied, "Bye, I'm going back to bed." Ateo had made sure he was hidden well, the church had been burned to the ground, but he hid amidst the rubble, quietly folding his arms around his legs, "I am dumbass... I shouldn't have cared for my family..." Philip decided, "Well the church is the closest place, so I should check there first." Wadjet formed nearby Ateo, staring at him, "Go check if the kid is following..." The snake nodded, taking flight with it's white wings, it began to survey the land nearby for Philip. Philip, seeing the giant spiritual snake, slithered behind a tree and stretched himself out to hide behind the tree. The snake circled overhead, searching for any signs of Philip, then moved on to search another part of the forest. Philip, surprised by his luck, dissolved again and slithered into the burned remains of the church, trying to be stealthy and hear what Ateo was saying. "Ra aid me, it is tough when I cannot decide to join some demon or just hide..." Ateo stated, "I'm lost... I hate my life..." Philip reformed and commented, "So you're talking to your old gods eh? Guess that might be a step in the right direction, means you're aware that what, Dark-Makoto offering isn't so good." Ateo's red eyes glared at Philip, "Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?" Philip replied, "Yes, but you also tried to shoot me for calling you a dumbass, which is immature and quite hypocritical considering that you call me stupid frequently." "Whatever. Go away." Ateo growled, Wadjet came flying down and hovered above Ateo, staring at Philip, "I mean it too." Ateo's eyes grew redder by the second, blotting out whatever lavender his eyes were originally, seemingly more dark energy emitted from his body. Philip replied stoically, "Oh enough with the metaphorical muscle flexing, my god you're worse than the US and the USSR during the Cold War. Why is it so hard for you to accept somebody's help? Is it some pride thing? Or are you really that freaking stubborn?" Ateo's eyes were now a pure red, Wadjet slowly transformed, its wings become black and skeletal, it's eyes becoming a brighter red, "And tell me, Philip, how have you helped me?" Ateo ground out. Philip analyzed the transformations as he continued, now slightly angry, "Oh, I'm sorry, who helped you fight Darkness when a certain someone brought said Secret to Earth? Who offered you a way to relate to modern society though Neo-Kemetism? Who has yet to actually give up on you after? Better question, how have you helped yourself?" "Who insulted me every step of the way? I had to put up with your modern garbage and then you had to the gall to try and stop me from releasing my family! I had no choice! I still don't have a choice when-" Ateo put his hands to his head, "-when assholes like yourself get so high and mighty above the rest, it makes me sick. You give me those looks and speak the way that the nobles did back then, and it disgusts me!!" Wadjet hissed, as if adding its own two cents. Philip pointed at Wadjet, snapping, "You stay out of this!" "Don't you speak to my Ka that way!!" Ateo ground out, he formed another orb of darkness and shot it at Philip. Philip made a hole to allow the orb to pass through him. Philip, feeling his inner Todd arising, said "Now what have we talked about? Use your big boy words." He then immediately thought, 'Damn it Todd, you're inactively going to get me killed!' Ateo grit his teeth, eyes becoming completely red and glowing, "You little-" Ateo ran at Philip, his body burning with purple flames, Wadjet was not far behind as he intended to collide with Philip. "Uh oh!" Philip shouted, jumping towards a nearby tree to avoid the attack for the time being. Ateo gave his signature creepy smile, and jumped back, landing on Wadjet. Ateo then breathed out purple flames directly at Philip. Philip discreetly sent a blob out, which slithered away in the grass, Philip saying, "Here we go again." as his body burned and the blob reformed. "How many times have I done this now?" Wadjet reacted and did a form of flip, slamming it's tail into the blob that was Philip, hissing angrily. Ateo repeated his purple flame breath, intending it to obliterate Philip. A single nanobot has begun to eat its way into the soil, before resting a good six feet below the surface. 'Great I'm six feet under and I'm not even dead...not yet anyway.' Ateo growled, noting that Philip's blob body was gone. Ateo stared down at the ground, seemingly calmed after 'killing' Philip, "Oh... What have I done..." Ateo dropped to the ground after Wadjet vanished, "Shit, I killed him..." The single nanobot that was Philip took advantage of this underground, replicating, devouring soil to make room to turn into a mole. He then began to dig a short distance away from Ateo, to watch from a safe distance. "Ra damn it all!!" Ateo slammed his fists to the ground, setting the ground ablaze with purple flames, "How could I...?" He stood up, and slowly walked toward a tree, and just started punching it over and over out of anger, allowing it to slowly be engulfed by the purple flames, he allowed his hands to suffer the burns. Philip couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy, 'Damn it Ateo, make up your mind. Do you want me to hate you or pity you?' He then turned into rabbit for greater speed thinking, 'Well, I have to try and find Makoto, try and figure out what's going on...oh right, I have no idea where I'm going. Crap.' Ateo sighed, as he allowed his clock to catch the purple flame and begin to burn himself as well, "Wadjet... Let's go..." He quietly stated as the snake appeared, he jumped atop the winged serpent and flew off, gone in almost an instant. Philip looked up, 'Oh, that might be helpful.' And, with Ateo and Wadjet's attention focused on their destination, Philip became a wolf for greater speed and begun to follow the two. Chapter III Ateo had Wadjet fly all the way to what appeared to be a quiet park; but he took note to the figure of Makoto standing by a lake, "I thought I'd find you here." 'Makoto' turned to look at Ateo, "Already made up your mind, eh?" Ateo jumped off Wadjet, who then vanished, "You could say so." "Wonderful. Then we can annihilate these mortals and restart the world once again." Philip appeared, reformed, and went into his armored mode, "Not quite." It had stopped raining a while ago and the sun was barely on the horizon, Makoto looked to Philip, smiling, "Hm... A kid like you should be at home, sleeping the morning away; that is if you were a normal being." Ateo was dumbfounded, "You're alive?" "Like I said Ateo, you've lost your touch." Ateo hung his head, "And I was upset thinking I killed you, Philip." "No matter. I can just render him immobile." Makoto took a few steps forward, "If it is a fight you want, I'll oblige, kid." Philip responded, "Something tells me you don't really fight, just summon stuff to do the dirty work for you?" Philip created a sword and shield from his arms. "You might as well give up, I know you did something with a solar eclipse thousands of years ago. You might as well tell me." "Someone is in way over their head." Makoto chuckled, his hands tucked in the pockets of his black trench coat, "You also seem to be so sure of your skill compared to mine. Heed my warning that you might be in bad shape in the next ten minutes." Philip retorted towards "Makoto", "Oh you have no idea how many times someone has said that to me. I've dealt with many different threats. A crazed scientist, a terrorist or two, hell even an alien life form, what makes a 4000 year old child, like you, much more of a threat?" "4000? You speak of Ateo... I'm not that young, though I appreciate the compliment." 'Makoto' brushed his white, long hair, "I can show you, come..." A dark slash of purple streaked right near Philip, from nowhere and cutting into his left shoulder. "Ow!" Philip snapped as the slash sliced off his shoulder and arm. Philip muttered curses under his breath as a new arm and shoulder reformed and his "former" arm and shoulder slithered and rejoined Philip. "You'd think I'd be used to that by now." he muttered, regaining his stoic composure. "Hey, Ides, stop it? Don't... I mean..." "Ateo, shut up. Let me deal with the kid." Another slash came out at Philip, as well as a second, going for his legs this time. Philip stretched and contorted his body in any way he could imagine in hope of avoiding being struck again. "Not enough, Philip." 'Makoto' smiled, jumping forth and slashing Philip in half with a purple emblazoned hand of fire. Both halves of Philip had a look of, "OK, this is getting annoying." As his two halves reformed he said, "OK, I will admit the loss of countless nanobots to your pyrokinetic abilities did hurt, literally, but I think it's time I started to do something." Philip turned both arms into swords and rushed towards Ides with incredible, yet not unavoidable, speed, ready to make a few slices of his own. 'Makoto' smiled lazily, easily blocking the whole attack with what appeared to be a purple shield, "I think you should relax Philip." Purple clouds began to fill the area, the park soon became nothing when Philip, Ateo, and Ides were all suddenly in some dark landscape, purple and black clouds seemed to float about. "Well this is new..." Philip said, transforming into armored form. "Where are we?" Philip found himself getting suddenly weaker by the moment, Ides smirked, "Welcome to the Ebony Realm, a slight spinoff of my own creation from the Realm of Darkness." Ateo stared at Philip then back to Ides, unable to decide what to do, though he seemed remotely unaffected by this realm. 'Uhg...d-damnit...I barely have the strength to kneel, let alone stand and fight...' thought Philip as he fell to his knees. Refusing to let himself be vulnerable thought, he forced himself to stay armored. Ides chuckled, "Ateo, I've got business to be dealing with, watch the kid." Ateo sighed, "I guess..." "You will." Makoto or otherwise Ides, vanished in a swirl of black energy; leaving only Ateo and Philip in the Ebony Realm. With the threat seemingly gone, Philip created long, spindly spider-like legs to force himself to stand. 'Just barely working...' he thought. "S-stll think working with Ides is such a good idea At-Ateo...?" Philip asked, lossing strength with every click of the spider-legs. "For your information, I had gone to tell him I was against the idea doing what he wanted, I still am; but you had to come up and ruin everything." Ateo sat on the black ground, wrapping his arms around his legs, "Why would I want to kill people over a spell like when my own family and friends were done in then same way?" Philip groaned with effort, using every ounce of his superhuman strength just to talk, "What's with this...d-dimension?" "The Ebony Realm, domain of Ides the Shade." Ateo muttered, standing up and walking over to Philip, "I cannot help you, even with how much I want to. I'm sorry for getting mad." "Think nothing of it..." Philip groaned. "So I'm judging by what you said, you can't get me out?" "Well... Escape isn't impossible..." Ateo muttered, "It might kill me though." 'Makoto' suddenly appeared, "How are you holding up, Philip? Not used to pure darkness, are you?" Philip didn't say anything, merely creating another "leg", a bladed one and thrust it at Ides. Ides merely raised an arm, creating a purple fire that burned the whole leg away, "I've merely decided that you're going to be a grand pawn in this all, hostages are always help. I know you're going to try to get outside help from another." Philip spat defiantly, "If you propose that you'll take me over too...I've...got some bad news for you...n-no neurons. I am infintely more complex that you can imagine. And if you tell me that wasn't the case...well that's the only way you're going to get me to help you." "No, no... I know exactly what you are. Trust me, I like more so to have the outside to see their friends in danger." Gold bands appeared from nowhere, Philip knew exactly what those were, as Ateo used them on him a while back. Ateo started, "Um..." "No. He's going to get these for kicks." Makoto chuckled. Philip sighed, "Not again. Regardless, Ateo...put these things on me before...and he couldn't make me do...anything. Don't think that I will do what you say just because you gave me jewelry..." Despite knowing it won't work, Philip tried to devour it, only for the bands to resist. The bands tied his hands behind his back, forcing him back into his normal human form, Ides sighed, "No, I'm just going to try to see if I can get... A little reaction... I must be going now, a few more souls to take and use for the spell." Makoto suddenly vanished. Ateo looked at Philip, "I can try to get us out." Philip asked, "What's the catch? What would happen if you do get us out...and more...importantly can you get me out of these damn things?" "I could possibly die." Ateo stated, "But that doesn't really matter." Ateo smirked as his hands became black, shooting a beam of energy from his hands at an open space, ripping a hole in the space. In return, black electricity began to shock Ateo. Nearby, Wadjet appeared, "Take him through there Wadjet!" Wadjet easily nabbed Philip with its mouth, flying through the portal to an escape. Philip found himself outside in the park with Wadjet, though the golden bands still bound his hands behind his back; the serpent spat him out onto the ground. Philip, feeling his strength back, warped himself to get his arms back in front, calling to Wadjet, "Get Ateo out of there!" While he said this he elongated his arm back through the portal, trying to reach Ateo. Wadjet was quick to fly back in, coming out with Ateo only a few minutes later; his body crackling with black energy, "Remind me to... Never do that again..." Ateo's iris shrunk, he gasped in pain. "Sure thing," Philip sighed, "But now what do we do?" Ateo sighed, black electricity coursing around him, "I-I don't... Know..." He gasped in pain, gritting his teeth; Wadjet slowly faded away, vanishing. Philip looked at the might spectral serpent as it vanished, "What's happened to Wadjet?" Ateo turned his head to look at Philip, "You have no idea how hard it is... to keep your... Soul stable... After such..." Ateo coughed up some blood, the black electricity calmed, "A rigorous moment..." He then fell to the ground, unable to stand any longer, slamming face-first into the grass. Philip groaned. "Damn it, what are we going to do?" he sighed, picking up Ateo with a new pair of arms he spawned from his back, trying to get as far away from this particular area of the park before Ides realize they were gone. "You kept... Blathering about... some friend who fights gods or something... Why not get him...?" Ateo questioned, "Ides is going to find out about your escape soon, and it'll be my head he wants..." Philip nodded and pulled out his phone calling Todd again. Todd groaned groggily, "What is it now Phil?" Philip replied, knowing that Todd will not be happy, "I need your help. I'm probably being tracked by some ancient spirit possessing the body of guy I met." Todd sighed, saying, "I'll be there in a minute. Where are you?" "Park." Philip can hear Todd snap his fingers before hearing his voice behind him saying, "OK, bring me up to speed and why are your hands bound Philip?" "Long story..." "How did he get here so suddenly...?" Ateo questioned, "Put me down... I feel like I'm going to vomit... And the story is my fault..." Ateo, with sudden strength, got out of Philip's grasp, crawled on the ground, his pale face looking more sick by the second. He was silent before he spoke again, "There are many things I now regret about my life... And one of them was aiding Ides into the world..." Todd yawned slightly before asking, "Alright, Ateo right? Give me the run down. Who is this Ides and what did he do to elipse the Sun?" "How did you figure out it was Ides?" Philip asked. "Same way you did. Powerful spirit, vast magical power, more than enough to block a section of the Book." Ateo looked at Todd, "I don't know... I was sealed away by the point Ides attacked Egypt... I sacrificed my body in the earthen plane for 4000 years ago to destroy the pharoah and his land." Ateo coughed, "I hate the pharoah... I hate Egypt... I hate all the Nile... Philip... I can try removing the binds Ides put on you... Come over here." Ateo stated. Philip walked over to Ateo to have the bands removed. Todd continued to ask, "Well what can you tell me about Ides?" Ateo coughed, summoning more of the black energy, it shocked Ateo as the bands broke. Ateo gritted his teeth in pain, "Ides is far older than I am, he lived in Darkness' realm for thousands, maybe millions of years... He was my second hope, my first being Darkness... He's never spoken much about himself, but his power is great, as I had to sacrifice my life back then to allow him to destroy Egypt..." Todd nodded slightly, "So basically you had a vendetta against the gods and decided to get a being of incredible dark power. Not the first time I saw something like this." He then looked at Philip, "How did you of all people get roped into this?" Philip answered, rubbing his wrists, "Found this guy stealing a special key, then one thing led another thing and now we're here." Todd picked up the shackles to quickly study them. "You're name is Todd... You remind me slightly of the man I hate most..." Ateo's eyes were a slight red, Wadjet formed nearby once more, seemingly stabilzed, hissing at Ateo, "Mm? Wadjet... I'm not in the mood..." The area suddenly grew dark, "Ateo, it seems you decided to betray me." Makoto's voice rung out, the teenager appearing moments after from darkness, evil grin and all, "Aw... This is sweet, a ragtag group we got here." Ateo crawled backward, getting away from 'Makoto', "Not now..." Todd cracked a smile, giving a single clap, saying, "So I take it you're this Ides I've been hearing so little about. Todd Simmons, how's it going? So tell me, what is the overall goal that you have in mind?" "Watching you writhe." Ides muttered, "And I have something to keep you busy for a good time." A small, black orb was dropped upon the ground from Ides. Todd created a small ball of light in his hand, saying, "Don't like the looks of that. Philip, suit up!" As suggested, Philip created twin blades from his arms. Ides smiled, putting his hands in the pockets of his black trench coat, "It's nothing that bad to worry of. Though someone here probably knows what's going to happen..." "I'm not going back..." Ateo growled. "None of you have a choice. I'm going to enact the first Ebony Game in 4000 years... Starting now..." Makoto chuckled darkly; as the orb seemed to suck everyone in save for Makoto; there was no chance for anyone to react before the orb had them all. Makoto (or Ides), grabbed the orb, smirking before he gripped it roughly; golden energy infused suddenly into the black sphere. "A portion of my power shall soon be among them." To be continued in Encroaching Darkness: First Game Category:TheSecret1070 Category:Dark Category:Book IV